NHS England’s Integrated Personal Commissioning (IPC) scheme, which aims to transform care for millions of disabled people and those with long-term conditions, is being rolled out to six new areas across England.
Birmingham and Solihull, Nottingham City, Hertfordshire, Islington, Sheffield and Nottinghamshire will become early adopters in NHS England’s IPC programme.
The IPC programme aims to join up health, social care and other services, including the voluntary and charity sectors, to help people, carers and families have more control over their care needs. It will help ensure that, as health services move towards more local commissioning, those with the most serious needs can still access the best care for their circumstances.
In partnership with the Local Government Association, the programme is already working in 12 areas of the country and helping adults and children with issues including severe mental health problems and complex learning disabilities and/or autism. These demonstrator sites have shown that IPC could eventually be the main model of community care for up to 5% of the population – more than 2.5 million people.
A key part of the IPC programme is increasing the number of people with a personal health budget (PHB). NHS England has set a target of at least 50,000 PHBs in place by 2020/21.
James Sanderson, NHS England’s director of personalisation and choice, said: “We know people want a greater say in their own care and that of their loved ones. These new centres will continue to bring more choice to people across the country and are a big step in joining up health, social care and the voluntary and community sector to improve the lives of people with the most complex needs.”
